“Tullis invested in Atritech -- which was developing an implantable cardiac device that would serve a large unmet need -- at a time when our hopes were high. However, the clinical evidence was very early and our regulatory path was ambiguous. Jim Tullis was able to see through that and had confidence in our team to, over time, gather clinical experience. While the regulatory path was uncertain, he believed the importance of our mission outweighed the risk. At the end of the day, many investors struggle with this; others embrace it.“

Adams developed consumer OTC pharmaceuticals. Tullis invested in the company when it had approximately $1 million in revenue and was experiencing significant losses. During the subsequent years, with additions to the management team and a honed strategy for a new product (“Mucinex”), Adams saw very substantial and profitable revenue growth to several hundred million dollars annually, following which the company was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser for approximately $2.3 billion. Tullis Dickerson achieved gains on its investment in Adams of approximately 10X overall.

Atritech Inc.

Atritech was founded in 2000 and has developed proprietary technology focused on replacing long term anticoagulation therapy for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. The first implants of the WATCHMAN® Left Atrial Appendage Closure Technology were performed in Germany in August of 2002 and in the United States in October of 2003. Since then the company has conducted a large randomized clinical trial comparing the WATCHMAN® Left Atrial Appendage Closure Technology to long term Warfarin therapy in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. The WATCHMAN® Device is CE Marked and available in many markets outside the United States. Atritech was acquired by Boston Scientific in 2011.

Synageva BioPharma Inc.

Synageva developed ultra orphan drugs, especially to treat potentially fatal enzyme deficiencies. In 2011, the company completed a reverse merger, effectively accomplishing an IPO at approximately $15 per share. Following this, the company's stock price appreciated significantly and Synageva was ultimately acquired by Alexion for a value of approximately $236 per share in 2015.

Tullis Health Investors, Inc.

The firm was founded in 1986 by Jim Tullis, a leading health care investment banker and 14-time Institutional Investor All-Star. Under his leadership, the Tullis family of funds has been investing successfully and exclusively in privately held health care companies through several funds for over 30 years. Considered a pioneer in healthcare focused venture and growth capital, the team invests in all major areas of the healthcare industry. The team combines extensive operating and clinical experience in the US and globally, with a strong history of successful health care private equity investing.

Investment Approach

Tullis provides equity and equity-related capital to small and emerging health care companies.Tullis focuses on companies that have already established operations or have completed a substantial portion of their development process for new products, technologies and services. Many Tullis companies have generated meaningful revenue and require capital in order to reach value-enhancing milestones in a defined two- to four-year period. Others are research and development stage medical companies which have passed key milestones, but require additional capital to achieve commercial status.